Obeying and looking after Parents

A man came to the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) and asked him for permission to go for Jihad. He (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said “Are your parents alive?” The man said “Yes” He (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said “Then your Jihad is with them.”

[Sahih Muslim]

Commentary:

This Hadith shows the virtue of being obedient to ones parents whereby a man asked the messenger (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) if he should participate in Jihad, so the Messenger (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) asked him if his parents are alive and when the man replied yes, the Messenger (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) ordered him to make his jihad in obeying and looking after his parents.

This shows the greatness of Bir al-Walidayyn (obedience towards parents) because Jihad is from the greatest worships in Islam and is considered to be the pinnacle of Islam, and with that the Messenger (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) replaced this worship with the worship of Bir al-Walidayn which shows its virtue and position in Islam.